Former Neo Nazi Quits Tory Candidacy After Backlash

A former neo-Nazi has quit as a Tory candidate following an angry backlash.

Joshua Bonehill-Paine was due to stand for election to Somerset council.

He was jailed for more than three years in 2015 after posting anti-semitic material online ahead of a planned neo-Nazi rally.

The following year, he was found guilty of racially-aggravated harassment of the Jewish Labour MP Luciana Berger.

Bonehill-Paine, creator of the satirical Crewkerne Gazette, has since recanted his previous anti-semitic views and now works with the Home Office on anti-radicalisation programmes.

His decision to stand down is a blow for Kemi Badenoch, who stood by him despite criticism from Jewish groups and her political opponents.

In a post on X, Bonehill-Paine said: “The last 24 hours have shown that a lot of people do not understand how terrible I feel about the things I did when I was much younger.

“I know that my previous actions continue to cause pain in the Jewish community. I had thought that getting involved in my local council and working hard for my community was a good way to show how much I have changed and that I want to give something back.

“I realise now that the fight against anti-semitism is something that I actually need to do more of, I need to show the Jewish community how much I regret my previous actions and how hard I will work to fight to help destroy anti-semitism and rebuild trust.”

He added: “While I cannot change my past, I can warn others away from the same destructive path. I know how this ideology works because I lived inside it.

“I also know that if I stand as a council candidate, other political parties will spend all their time focusing on my past rather than the work I’m doing today, or even fighting anti-semitism in their own midst.

“Rather than standing as a local council candidate, I believe that my experience is better used supporting Kemi Badenoch in her ongoing mission to combat the anti-semitism and extremism that is dividing our nation.

“I have therefore informed the party of my decision to withdraw from next year’s council election.”

Bonehill-Paine said he had instead accepted an offer from Badenoch to become an adviser to the Conservatives’ Culture and Integration Commission.

Badenoch said: “If we are going to stop extremism and anti-semitism we are going to need help from those people who were part of the problem, but have now changed and are being part of the solution.

“Piling on them and trying to get them cancelled may be sport for other parties, but this is a different Conservative Party.

“Sometimes there will be difficult judgement calls, but right now I know that we are the only party actively working to unite the country rather than one particular faction or other.”

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